THE FIRST STATED GOAL OF

SOCIAL STUDIES IS
"UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD".
SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULA USE THE TERM
"UNDERSTANDING" CONSCIOUSLY BECAUSE LEARNING IN
SOCIAL STUDIES INVOLVES MORE THAN SIMPLY
MEMORISING FACTUAL INFORMATION. FACTUAL
KNOWLEDGE IS USED AS THE BASIS FOR HELPING
STUDENTS TO DEVELOP CONCEPTS AND GENERAL
UNDERSTANDINGS.
THINKING SKILLS ARE IMPORTANT IN SOCIAL
STUDIES BECAUSE STUDENTS USE THEM TO PROCESS
FACTS IN ORDER THAT SPECIFIC ITEMS OF
INFORMATION MAY BE RELATED TO EACH OTHER IN A
VARIETY OF WAYS TO BECOME IDEAS OR
"UNDERSTANDINGS".
UNDERSTANDING DOES NOT RESULT MERELY FROM RECORDING AND
STORING. UNDERSTANDING - IN THE SENSE OF POSSESSING NEW MEANING –
IS NOT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE GIVEN INTACT TO ANYONE.
LEARNERS THEMSELVES MUST BRING ABOUT UNDERSTANDING. PEOPLE MAY
BE FAMILIAR WITH THE FRUITS OF ANOTHER'S LEARNING AS INFORMATION,
BUT UNLESS THEY GO THROUGH THE MENTAL PROCESSES OF ESTABLISHING
THAT SAME KNOWLEDGE, THEY WILL NOT REALLY UNDERSTAND IT IN ALL ITS
DEPTH, COMPLEXITIES AND VARIOUS IMPLICATIONS.
NOT ALL SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATORS WILL AGREE ON EXACT TERMINOLOGY BUT
ALL WILL AGREE THAT UNDERSTANDING IN SOCIAL STUDIES IS EXPRESSED AS
IDEAS, CONCEPTS OR GENERALISATIONS. IN SOCIAL STUDIES TERMINOLOGY, A
CONCEPT MAY BE REGARDED AS AN ABSTRACTION WHICH PULLS TOGETHER A
NUMBER OF FACTS. CONCEPTS CAN BE USED TO GROUP FACTS TOGETHER,
ORGANISE THEM AND TRY TO MAKE SENSE OF THEM BY REVEALING PATTERNS OF
SIMILARITY AND DIFFERENCE. BEYER (1979) SEES THE NEXT LEVEL OF
CONCEPTUALISATION, "UNDERSTANDINGS" AS AN INTERMEDIATE STAGE BETWEEN
CONCEPTS AND GENERALISATIONS. MANY TEACHERS WOULD REFER TO SUCH
UNDERSTANDINGS AS MAIN IDEAS OR IMPORTANT IDEAS.
• GENERALISATIONS CAN BE REGARDED AS THE FINAL STAGE OF SOCIAL
STUDIES LEARNING. GENERALISATIONS CAN HELP US EXPLAIN OR PREDICT;
THEY SUMMARISE WHAT IS THOUGHT TO BE TRUE ABOUT SIMILAR CASES
AND THEY PROVIDE A WAY OF SYNTHESISING INFORMATION.
• GENERALISATIONS ARE, OF COURSE, NOT ABSOLUTE TRUTHS. THEY SHOULD
BE REGARDED AS TENTATIVE STATEMENTS WHICH CAN BE MODIFIED,
EXPANDED OR QUALIFIED. GENERALISATIONS ARE DIFFERENT FROM
UNDERSTANDING IN THAT UNDERSTANDINGS REFER TO SPECIFIC PLACES,
TIMES, PEOPLE OR ITEMS. GENERALISATIONS ARE BROADER AND
APPLICABLE IN A VARIETY OF SITUATIONS.
•SO IN GOOD SOCIAL STUDIES, CHILDREN ARE NOT JUST CONCERNED
WITH LEARNING FACTS; FACTUAL INFORMATION IS GATHERED AND
PROCESSED TO BECOME CONCEPTS, UNDERSTANDINGS (OR
IMPORTANT IDEAS), AND GENERALISATIONS.
•STUDENTS BEGIN A UNIT BY LOCATING FACTS, THESE FACTS ARE
PROCESSED AND REFINED TO BECOME MORE ABSTRACT CONCEPTS
AND IMPORTANT IDEAS, AND THESE LEAD IN TURN TO THE
GENERALISATIONS WHICH ARE THE ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES OF
THE CURRICULUM.
EACH LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING IS BROADER AND LESS
SPECIFIC THAN THE PRECEDING ONE. TEACHERS PLAN
FROM LEVEL SIX DOWNWARDS TOWARDS LEVEL ONE.
TABLEL: FACTS, CONCEPTS,
UNDERSTANDINGS,
GENERALISATIONS
LEVEL ONE: FACTS
The shaman blessed the hunters before they left
Buffalo skins were used for clothing
Deer antlers were made into tools
The tribe followed the buffalo herds
European hunters killed thousands of buffalo
LEVEL TWO: CONCEPTS

•CONSERVATION, EXPLOITATION,
INTERACTION, SCARCITY, NOMADIC
LEVEL THREE: UNDERSTANDINGS
(IMPORTANT IDEAS)
•THE PLAINS INDIANS RELIED ON THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT FOR
SUSTENANCE
•THE PLAINS INDIANS TREATED THE ENVIRONMENT WITH RESPECT
•THE PLAINS INDIAN'S LIFE STYLE HAD TO CHANGE WHEN THE
BUFFALO WERE GONE
LEVEL FOUR: GENERALISATIONS
(ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES)
•PEOPLE RELATE TO THE ENVIRONMENT IN DIFFERENT WAYS
•PEOPLE'S INTERACTIONS WITH THE ENVIRONMENT HAVE
CHANGED OVER TIME
LEVEL FIVE: MAJOR GENERALISATIONS
(STRAND AIMS)
•PATTERNS OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE,
PLACES AND THE ENVIRONMENT CHANGE PEOPLE
PERCEIVE PLACES AND ENVIRONMENTS
DIFFERENTLY
LEVEL SIX: PRINCIPLE (CURRICULUM AIM)

•PEOPLE INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER AND THEIR

ENVIRONMENT
SOCIAL STUDIES:
MEANING, CONCEPT
AND PURPOSE
SOCIAL STUIDES IS AN INTEGRATED LEARNING PROGRAM
INTENDED TO DEVELOP CIVIC COMPETENCE AMONG STUDENTS.
•CIVIC COMPETENCE IS DEFINED AS:
• THE ABILITY TO ENGAGE WITH OTHERS IN PUBLIC DOMAIN
• DISPLAY SOLIDARITY AND INTEREST IN SOLVING PROBLEM AFFECTING
THE LOCAL AND WIDER COMMUNITY
THIS INVOLVES:
•CRITICAL AND CREATIVE REFLECTION
•CONSTRUCTIVE PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
•AS WELL AS DECISION MAKING AT ALL LEVEL, FROM LCAL TO
INTERNATIONAL
IT INCLUDES DEMONSTRATING A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY, AS
WELL AS SHOWING UNDERSTANDING OF AND RESPECT FOR THE
SHARED VALUES THAT ARE NECESSARY TO ENSURE COMMUNITY
COHESION.
THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SOCIAL STUDIES (NCSS) DEFINES SOCIAL STUDIES AS:
• THE IN GRATED STUDY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES TO PROMOTE A CIVIC
COMPETENCE. IT PROVIDES COORDINATED, SYSTEMATIC STUDY DRAWING UPON SUCH
DISCIPLES SUCH AS ANTHROPOLOGY, ARCHAEOLOGY, ECONOMICS, GEOGRAPHY,
HISTORY, LAW, PHILOSOPHY, POLITICAL SCIENCE, PSYCHOLOGY, RELIGION, AND
SOCIOLOGY, AS WELL AS APPROPRIATE CONTENT FROM HUMANITIES, MATHEMATICS,
AND NATURAL SCIENCE.
THE PRIMARY PURPOSE:
• HELP YOUNG PEOPLE MAKE INFORMED AND REASONED DECISIONS FOR THE PUBLIC
GOOD AS CITIZENS OF A CULTURAL DIVERSE, DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY IN AN
INDEPENDENT WORLD.
“ GOOD CITIZENSHIP”
“ THE PURPOSE OF SOCIAL STUDIES WAS IN TERM’S MEANING AS A
VERB- AS IN, GOOD CITIZENSHIP- NOT IN ITS MEANING AS A NOUN-
AS IN, STUDYING THE CONTENT OF PARTICULAR SOCIAL STUDIES
OR HISTORY SUBJECT”
LTERALLY, SOCIAL STUDIES IS COMPOSED OF TWO WORDS, SOCIAL
AND STUDIES. ACCORDING TO ARTHUR DUNN AS ARTICULATED BY
DAVID SAXE.
AS ONE OF THE LEARNING AREAS IN THE PHILIPPINES K-12 BASIC
EDUCATION CURRICULUM, ARALING PANLIPUNAN (SOCIAL
STUDIES) INTENDS TO DEVELOP AMONG LEARNERS CRITICAL
UNDERSTANDING OF HISTORICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, SOCIO-
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES OF THE PHILIPPINES, TAKING
INTO ACCOUNT THE INTERNATIONAL AND GLOBAL CONTEXT.
ALLOWING THEM TO BECOME PRODUCTIVE CITIZEN OF THE
COUNTRY AND OF THE WORLD.
IT LIKEWISE SEEKS TO ENGENDER AMONG FILIPINO
LEARNERS HISTORICAL MINDEDNESS, CRITICAL THINKING,
CIVIC COMPETENCE, CULTURAL TOLERANCE, AND RESPECT
FOR DIVERSITY.
PRIMARILY, K-12 ARALING PANLIPUNAN (SOCIAL STUDIES)
INTENDS TO DEVELOP CRITICAL REFLECTION, RESPONSIBLE,
PRODUCTIVE, NATURE-LOVING, NATIONALIST, AND HUMANE
CITIZENS ROOTED IN HIS/HER IDENTITY AS FILIPINO YET
MANIFESTS THE VALUES AND SKILLS OF A GLOBAL CITIZEN.
THE SAID OVERARCHING GOAL IS EXPECTED TO BE ACHIEVED BY
EMPLOYING SOUND LEARNING THEORIES, WHICH INCLUDE
CONSTRUCTIVISM, COLLABORATIVE LEARNING, EXPERIMENTAL,
AND CONTEXTUAL LEARNING.
ALONGSIDE THIS IS THE USE OF RELEVANT APPROACH, DISCOVERY
APPROACH, INTEGRATIVE, INTERDISCIPLINARY AND
MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH.
SEVEN THEMES:
• PEOPLE, ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY
• TIME, CONTINUITY AND CHANGE
• CULTURAL, RESPONSIBILITY AND NATIONHOOD
• RIGHTS, RESPONSIBILITY AND CITIZENSHIP
• POWER, AUTHORITIES AND GOVERNANCE
• PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION
• REGIONAL AND GLOBAL CONNECTIONS
MOREOVER, THE DISCIPLINAL SKILLS IN SOCIAL
STUDIES SUCH AS CRITICAL THINKING, CREATIVITY,
SOUND DECISION-MAKING, INVESTIGATIVE AND
RESEARCH SKILLS, AND HISTORICAL THINKING ARE
LIKEWISE DEVELOPED USING EXPANDING APPROACH.